William Waldegrave Palmer, Second Earl of Selborne

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE William Waldegrave Palmer, Second Earl of Selborne, K.G., G.C.M.G., D.C.L., L.L.D., P.C. (17 October 1859 – 26 February, 1942) was a Conservative Unionist politician who served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1900 to 1905.

First Lord of the Admiralty

The Permanent Secretary, Sir Evan MacGregor, in a 1902 letter to the Commander-in-Chief on the China Station, Sir Cyprian A. G. Bridge, wrote of Selborne:

The First Lord works very hard and is very pleasant to serve under I find. Of course it takes some time for any new comer to appreciate the traditions and customs of the Service.

The German Naval Attaché in London, von Coerper, wrote to Tirpitz that Selborne:

is easily influenced by men whom he has recognised as efficient … he is entirely subservient to the influence of Sir John Fisher and subscribes blindly to his proposals.

Bibliography

• "Earl of Selborne" (Obituaries). The Times. Friday, 27 February, 1942. Issue 49171, col D, p. 7.
• Boyce, D. George. Ed. (1990). The Crisis of British Power: The Imperial and Naval Papers of the Second Earl of Selborne, 1895-1910. London: The Historians' Press. ISBN 0950890081.

Papers

• Papers in the possession of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.

See Also

Political Appointments
Preceded by The Rt. Hon. George J. Goschen	First Lord of the Admiralty 1900 – 1905	Succeeded by The Rt. Hon. The Earl Cawdor